How Do You Plead? New Dredd EXTENDED COMMERCIAL!

The reboot of Dredd opens in a few weeks, and, judging by the new 60 second TV trailer, it looks as though the movie could be beyond middle ground—it’s either gonna be really, really bad, or it’s going to rock socks. Why don't we all watch the spankin' new EXTENDED COMMERSH?!

Here’s what stands out to us, good and bad:

Karl Urban is filling Sylvester Stallone’s shoes this time around, and it sounds as though he took lessons from the same vocal coach. Either that, or he decided to wake up every morning and add a fistful of gravel to his Cocoa Puffs. We’re not saying Karl Urban’s bad. In fact, we loved him as Bones in the new Star Trek. We’re just not sure if that raspy growl won’t come across as hokey when it’s supposed to be intimidating.

The La Roux remix of “In for the Kill” that plays in the background during the trailer—yay or nay? The British synth-pop duo seems an odd choice for a bloody 3D gunfest based on a comic book, but we found that the song was one of the most resonant things about the trailer, perhaps because it was unexpected.

Lena Headey (aka the twincestian Cersei Lannister) whose character Ma-Ma controls the flow of Slo-Mo, the drug many denizens are hooked on, looks like a force in this. She mentions wanting to take over the entire city, and with those Joker-esque scars on her face and that killer haircut, she looks a little like Cheetara gone bad. If anything about this trailer excites us, it’s her...

...and Olivia Thirlby (Juno), who plays Dredd’s rookie sidekick. She’s an awesome actress, although, based on the trailer, it doesn’t look like she has too much to do in this flick. Let’s hope we’re wrong about that.

There’s the potential for this to be one of those movies that’s so bad, it’s actually kind of good. The dialogue sounds uber corny, with Dredd spouting lines like “I am the law,” and “How do you plead?” But then, when he says things like “The perps were... uncooperative,” well, that could actually be kind of funny in an unintentionally hilarious way.

Have we mentioned that it’s in 3-D? We can’t decide based on this trailer if that’ll up the coolness, or if it comes across as gimmick only. That, like the quality of the film, remains to be seen.

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About the Author

Beth Mishler is a writer, producer, and pop culture connoisseur who has a weakness for the Whedonverse and all things sci-fi. Originally from Madison, Wisconsin, Beth currently lives in The Plains, Ohio, where she freelances, makes documentaries, and watches a kazillion hours of TV per week while anxiously awaiting the release of George R.R. Martin's next novel.